by Geri Foster
“What do you know about Griff? Is he married, family?”
Confused at her sudden change of heart, after asking questions about Griff Bradford were banned, he answered hesitantly, “No wife. No kids…he’s single.”
“How do you know?”
He lifted a shoulder. “As the lead detective on the police force, I did the required background check on him.” He shook his head. “Nothing there.”
“Oh,” she said, then waited for that information to sink in.
Taking in her expression, David opened his mouth to speak when Russ called out that the food was ready and for everyone to grab a plate. She had no appetite, and no desire to hang around, but she couldn’t just disappear. Besides, if Griff was the new Fire Chief, did she plan to avoid him for years to come?
Glancing across the huge area, colorful canopies covered numerous picnic tables dotting the large back yard. Nancy and Jeff had made sure everyone would have a place to get out of the sun to enjoy their food. Games were even set up for children, who ran around screaming and yelling, delighted at being given free rein.
She dared a glance in Griff’s direction, noticing he was engaged in conversation with a few townspeople. With the freedom to really look at him now, she saw he wore a light blue shirt that stretched across his broad back, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. The jeans encasing his rear were tight as spandex and cupped him like a lover’s hand. He turned slightly, and her gaze traveled slowly down the backs of his long, muscular legs.
She licked her lips as old memories flashed through her mind no matter how hard she fought them. As if he felt her eyes on him, he turned, catching her staring. She dropped her gaze to her red painted toes and hoped he didn’t see the blush firing up her cheeks.
Leah, breaking the tension, ran up and grabbed her hand. “Come on, Aunt Olivia. Fix me a plate, please.”
Thankful for the distraction, she moved toward the table and took a plate and handed it to Leah before taking one for herself. As they moved through the line, Leah kept up a constant chatter about all the food and what she wanted to eat.
Though she had no desire to eat, Olivia put a few things on her plate just for show. With plastic silverware fisted, she situated her niece at the kids’ table and went for drinks. With Leah settled, she decided to join her dad, brother and Amelia. She’d no sooner snapped the tab on her Dr. Pepper when Griff sat down beside her.
She didn’t have to look up. She easily recognized his hands and the feel of his thigh against her hip. She sucked in a deep breath and held it, fearful her lungs might burst.
He leaned down, giving her a challenging glance. “This seat taken?”
“No,” David answered immediately, as though fearful of what might come out of her mouth. “We’re glad you joined us.”
Not very damn likely.
* * *
Griff Bradford was happy to have been chosen to be the next Fire Chief for Rainwater, Texas. It’d been his dream job for years, doing what he loved in his home town. Now, that was the life he wanted to live. After ten years away, he returned close to family and surrounded by people he knew and grew up with.
Like Olivia Anderson.
He sighed, thinking of her icy reception. They’d dated in High School. Actually, he was in his senior year when she caught his eye and she was a junior. He’d stuck around after graduating, trying to figure out what he wanted to do. For two years they’d been on top of each other—literally. He’d thought he’d been hearing wedding bells around the corner when, one day, it all ended...abruptly.
They’d ended on bad terms, to put it lightly. Hell, she’d practically threatened to shoot him with her daddy’s shotgun if he didn’t leave her alone. He tried to explain, over and over he tried but, after a while, he just couldn’t take it anymore. She’d made up her mind. So, he left. Joined the military. Came back once in a while to visit his parents and stayed out of her way.
What happened between them had been a long time ago and, given the circumstances, he could understand, now, why she’d acted the way she had. They had been young and head over heels in love and after what she saw…
Shaking his head, he brushed off the thought. He’d come back expecting her to have tended her wounds as he had, grown up and moved on, and for them to be civil, if not friends, but that might be hard. He didn’t think he could ever look at her romantically again after what she’d done to him, turning her back on him as she had. But that wasn’t what happened at all. To his surprise, seeing her again almost instantly made his heart race and his fingers tingle to touch her. Time had healed more wounds than he’d realized.
Shocked to learn he still cared, he nonetheless thought, maybe, if she’d finally realized her mistake and apologized…maybe they could try being friends…see where it went. But the frosty shoulder she gave today said otherwise and he felt a fool for even considering, even for a second, that they could have what they once did. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…
“Griff Bradford,” a sultry voice called to him, pulling him from his musings.
Looking over his shoulder, he dropped his fork and sighed when he recognized Sheila Calhoun approaching in a come-take-me dress with her pretty face beaming with an open invitation. The offer was so blatant, he almost looked away, embarrassed at her audacity in front of everyone. She was, hands down, the last person he wanted to see. But, the way she smiled, she wouldn’t be deterred, and he didn’t want to create a scene, so he stood as she got closer, hoping to intercept her from getting too close to the table…and Olivia.
“Griff Bradford,” she squealed, her hands clasped in front of her face. “My goodness, you are a sight for sore eyes.”
When she moved to hug him, he stuck out his right hand, keeping a couple feet between them. “How are you, Sheila?”
She was momentarily stunned at his rigid behavior, though why he had no idea considering what he’d said to her the last time they spoke, but the look on her face faded quickly when she saw who sat beside him. The smirk on Sheila’s face stated clearly how pleased she was to see them together again, like it was the highlight of her life to have broken them apart and she couldn’t wait to see that pain relived.
Recovering quickly, she said, “I’m fine. Can you imagine how surprised I was when I heard you were the new Fire Chief?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Well,” she pressed her hands to her chest and batted her eyelashes to the point he thought she might go blind. “I was thrilled to death. I’m glad to have you back. In Rainwater, that is.”
Ignoring the innuendo, he said, “I’m happy to have been offered the job.”
She stared long and hard, enough to make him tighten his jaw, his patience wearing thin. To his relief, a tall, slender man walked up and put his arm around her waist. “Sheila, I found us a place to sit.” Winking at him, without a word to anyone else at the table, she turned and walked away.
Clearing his throat, he sat back down, draped the paper napkin across his thigh and picked up his fork. He glanced beside him and saw Olivia talking to her brother, David, as if she hadn’t noticed a thing. He might have believed that, if it weren’t for the rigid way she sat or the grip she had on her fork, causing her knuckles to turn white.
Across from him, Theo continued talking shop. They made plans for him to go to the station tomorrow to be introduced to the rest of the staff.
David and Amelia both expressed how happy they were that he was back in Rainwater and assured him the council had chosen the best man for the job. He thanked them all, but mostly he just wanted to get out of there. This day couldn’t have gone any worse.
“Did you know Olivia is a nurse?” Theo asked him out of the blue as he took a sip of his beer, causing him to nearly spit it out. “No, I didn’t hear that.”
Glancing at Olivia, she sat motionless, the white plastic fork halted midway to her mouth. For a moment she didn’t say anything. Didn’t move. Then she lowered her eating utensil and dropped her gaze
to her plate. “Yes, I work at Denton General,” she forced out, clearly not wanting to be having a conversation with him.
“You work in Denton but live in Rainwater?” he asked, curious despite himself.
“You’ll be surprised how many people do,” Theo said. “The drive is no longer than twenty minutes.”
David moved sideways to look past Olivia at him. “Besides, Dad and I don’t want her to move away. Until Amelia returned, the only decent meals we had were at her house.”
He forced a chuckle with the rest of them and wished for more calming conversation.
He quickly finished his plate and stood, offering to remove anyone else’s. David and Theo took him up on the offer, but both women were still eating. Heading toward the fifty-five-gallon drum used as a trash can, he dumped his load and considered whether he wanted to go back to the table or just make some excuse to leave.
As he mulled it over, Olivia stood, took her plate and moved over to sit at the table with Candi and Austin. Huffing out a humorless breath, he got the message loud and clear. She didn’t want to be near him and he had never pushed himself on a woman. Especially not one that had broken his heart and then blamed him for it.
Chapter 2
Olivia had to get away from Griff just to be able to draw a decent breath. Being this close to him had her so anxious she feared she’d no doubt manage to make a fool of herself in some asinine way. Besides, she didn’t need all those memories rushing back at her, nearly bowling her over. She was getting warmer than the temperature just sitting next to him and that was not acceptable. After what he’d done…she had to get away or die.
Cutting herself some slack for her traitorous body’s feelings, she admitted that Griff had always been one of the best-looking guys in High School. Hell, who was she kidding, he was born gorgeous. What with his thick blond hair, now worn just below his collar, with just enough body to be well behaved. Not that there wasn’t a strand out of place. That often happened, but he always looked neat, well-groomed and delectable.
It was his stormy gray eyes that amped up his sexuality though. Those optics could get a girl out of her panties before she knew what hit her. They were edgy, seductive, turbulent, and smoldering. The icing on the cake was his thick black lashes circling those eyes in stark contrast to his light hair.
Moving lower, his mouth was well formed and perfectly shaped, with white, straight teeth behind his lips. She still remembered the taste of him. Remembered the need, desire and love.
God, the man had a way with women. His lovemaking was legendary. And on top of that, he had always been an all-around good guy. Smart, funny, respectful. That’s why when he looked her way in High School, she knew she was in way over her head. But she couldn’t help herself.
She had to give him credit. He never touched her until she turned eighteen, but after he did, well, nothing had been the same since. Being this close to him still made her palms damp and her stomach clench. And she hated him even more for it.
“Are you all right?” Candi leaned over and whispered. “I know it has to be uncomfortable.”
“It’s worse that Sheila is here.”
Candi picked up her soda can and rolled her eyes. “You can say that again.”
“I guess I shouldn’t blame her, though. It was Griff who cheated, not her.”
Candi scoffed. “Sheila is a piece of work. There is no doubt in my mind she orchestrated that whole event.”
She picked up her fork and stabbed at her food. “Are you still claiming that excuse? I wouldn’t count on it. You didn’t see what I saw.”
Candi’s eyes were full of sadness as she said, “Olivia—”
“No,” she cut her off, pointing her fork at her. “Don’t start.”
Austin sat across from them and, ever the FBI Officer, he picked up on their conversation quickly. “What’s all the whispering about?”
“Nothing,” Candi nervously replied. “Just girl talk.”
His keen gaze moved to Olivia. “You’re not upset over Griff coming back to town, are you?”
“No,” she replied, hoping he believed her lie. “Not at all.”
“Hmm,” he nodded. “You two had a pretty turbulent break up.”
She tried her best to smile but failed. “That was ten years ago.”
He zeroed in on her like a laser. “Heartaches can take a lifetime to heal.”
“Not in our situation,” she said firmly. “I was once head over heels, but not anymore. I’m just surprised to see him.” She glanced over at the table where he sat chatting with her dad. “And I’m really surprised Dad hired him as the new Fire Chief without saying a word to me.”
“The ultimate decision remained with the Council. Theo had to wait for the final word to come down from City Hall.”
She stabbed the air with her fork in his direction. “But you knew. Lucas and David knew.”
“Well, it wasn’t a secret as far as we were concerned. I don’t know why the word didn’t get to you.”
She glared at her dad. “Maybe someone didn’t want me to know.”
Austin followed her gaze. “Now, Olivia. You’re making a lot more of this than necessary. There were a lot of candidates and any one of them could’ve been chosen.”
Setting her fork down, she knew Austin was right. Her dad wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her. He knew how heartbroken she was when they split. He would have warned her about Griff being hired if he thought it would still upset her. Guess she played it cool a little too well. He didn’t know how much that pain still haunted her.
Rolling her shoulders, she took a deep breath. Perhaps she was giving this too much concern. Griff applied for the job and obviously got it fair and square. That was it. She relaxed her shoulders and tried her best to enjoy the cookout.
It wasn’t long before Jeff and Nancy called for everyone’s attention. Standing on the patio, facing the crowd, Jeff had his arm around Nancy’s waist and hers rested on his back. “I know you’re all curious about what’s taking place here. Nancy and I wanted to share some special news with our friends, so we decided to hold this event to tell you all at once.” Jeff pulled her closer. “But first, Theo has something to say.”
The crowd groaned at being teased about the news, having anxiously waited to hear it all day. Her dad stood and waved, smiling broadly. “Thanks folks. I know we all want to know what the mystery is, so I promise this will be quick.” Everyone clapped, and he began. “Y’all know I’m retiring in a couple of weeks. For two months we’ve been looking for my replacement. Well, we found him.” Tapping Griff’s shoulder, he said, “Stand up, son.”
Griff stood, his face a little pink. With his arm around his choice for the job, her dad said, “This is Griff Bradford. He’s from around here and I’m sure most of you know him. He comes more qualified than we’d ever hoped for. I hope you’ll all welcome him back home.”
A round of applause filled the air. Whoops and hollers, along with whistles, affirmed the town of Rainwater was happy to have one of their own back.
Griff held up his hand in modesty. “I’m really glad to be back in Rainwater.” He pointed to his mom, who sat with Russ and Aaron Travis’ mom. “And so is she. I hope I have the confidence of the community and I want you all to know I’ll be there when I’m needed most.”
More applause rang out as Griff sat down. Suddenly, he looked across the yard and captured her gaze. For several seconds, neither of them blinked, drawn to one another as they always had been. Forcing her eyes away, she steeled her spine and swallowed back the lump in her throat. That connection couldn’t be trusted. He couldn’t be trusted. In fact, she’d learned very few men could be.
Her dad took his seat and Jeff cleared his throat. “Now, the reason we invited y’all here. We’re proud to announce that we’re pregnant.”
Nancy blushed as Jeff leaned down and captured her mouth. Every guest jumped to their feet, clapping and cheering. “Congratulations!” Austin shouted. “Woohoo!”
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br /> Standing and clapping as well, Olivia glanced around noticing how happy and excited everyone was for the couple.
“When’s she due?” Rachel asked, shouting over the crowd.
“Six more months,” Nancy said, placing her hand on her abdomen. “She’ll be an October baby.”
“Or he,” Jeff interjected happily.
Leaning over to Candi, she asked, “I didn’t think Nancy could get pregnant.”
Candi nodded. “She told me herself she learned in her twenties she was infertile.”
“Maybe my Uncle has a magic wand,” Austin added, puffing out his chest and wiggling his brows. They both scowled at him and he spread out his hand. “Okay, you two explain it.”
“Wrong diagnosis from the doctor twenty years ago,” Candi suggested.
Austin waved her off. “Well, I don’t care how it happened. I’m proud as punch. Jeff needs this and so does Nancy. It couldn’t have happened to two better people.”
As friends gathered around the happy couple, she couldn’t help but wonder why life had gone the way it had for her. It was here, right in front of her, that true love and happiness was possible. But for her, three heartaches had pretty much convinced her that wasn’t in the cards. Neither were children.
Rachel walked up behind her and wrapped her arm around her. “I see planning a baby shower in our future,” she teased.
She looked at her and grinned. “I’ll offer up my place. It’s big enough and there’s no man to interfere.”
“We’ll take you up on that offer,” Kendall replied as she approached, being a good friend and ignoring the note of sadness that was in her voice when she mentioned how alone she was. “First we have to find out what it’s going to be.”
Jeff walked over and shook Austin’s hand. “Were you surprised?”
Austin grinned. “Blown completely away. I bet Nancy is over the moon.”
“She is and finds the whole idea hard to believe.”
“We’re planning a baby shower,” Candi practically shouted in her excitement. “We can’t wait to find out if it’s a girl or boy.”